Utica Peregrine Falcon Update for April 9, 2018 –
Overnight was very cold with temperatures getting down into the high teens. Relatively clear skies and a lack of wind gave way to a quick warm up. By noon the temperature surged into the high thirties. Astrid had arrived at the nest box at 6 PM, Sunday evening. She remained there through the night. At 12:37, she produced her fourth and probably last egg of the clutch. It was only visible for a few seconds before she tucked it beneath her with the others. Ares came to the box with food at 4:34. She took it and went over to the Hotel to feed. Ares then got his first chance to see the new egg. He settled on top of them quickly. It’s always harder for him as a smaller falcon to fit 4 eggs beneath him, but with some effort he does manage it. The falcons pulled off a quick and seamless changing of the guard at 7:20. At thtat point, Astrid was back on the eggs and Ares was perched on the State Building. Later on Ares appeared to be in hunting mode. He was seen on the Hotel at 9:37. Eight minutes later Astrid began calling to him. He landed on the steeple but only stayed there for a few minutes. He then went to the box and the pair executed another rapid changeover. Again, it was taking Ares some effort to get all the eggs beneath him, but he ultimately did. After she left the box, Astrid was out of our camera view for a quite a while. At eleven, a Turkey Vulture flying through the canyon elicited no response from Ares. A half-hour later, Ares did get excited. He called a few times and then left the box. He took a high perch on the State Building. A moment later, Astrid flew in from the east and landed on a window ledge near his. He left his perch and boomeranged back for a mating attempt, but his trajectory was off and he landed on another ledge instead. Astrid then returned to the nest and to incubating. The eggs had been uncovered for only two minutes.
At 11:43, Ares was back on the hotel. He seemed to be in hunting mode again. At 12:09, Astrid got a little excited and vocalized from the box. We didn’t know what she was reacting to. At 12:21 Ares was seen on the east face of the State Building, but he wasn’t there for long. At 12:32, Astrid suddenly left the box. The Pigeon flock stirred, but she wasn’t pursuing them. In two minutes, Ares came to the box and got onto the eggs. Astrid came back to the nest at 12:46, but Ares didn’t want to leave. She turned around and flew back into the canyon. She swooped back and forth in front of the State Building a couple of times and then landed on a high ledge on that building. For the first part of the afternoon Astrid was mostly on the State Building. She made occasional forays out but returned to her perch each time. That is until 3:09, when she flew west. After 12:30, Ares spent the entire afternoon at the box. For a short time when the sun was hitting it with full force, he even did a little shading, which was surprising because it was still only in the 40’s. Astrid wasn’t seen in the canyon again until 5:38. She had gone into Ares food cache on the west face of the State Building and had taken a Woodcock. She then went over to the Hotel ledge to feed on it. After plucking and tearing at it for a while she took the meal up to the State Building. There she fed on it for a while longer. And then, instead of going home to the eggs she flew off to the west. Where was she off to now? At that point, Ares left the box and the eggs, and flew over to the Hotel. After a minute he went over to the steeple, and then back up to the box and onto the eggs. He was off the eggs for about 9 minutes total, which is not a problem. Astrid showed up on the steeple at 6:14. At this point she hadn’t taken a shift on the eggs in nearly 6 hours. That’s unusual and was something she hadn’t done in previous years. More typically she would give Ares an extended turn at incubation only during really hot afternoons, but not on a day like this. We still think that she’s likely being distracted by another Peregrine or pair of Peregrines somewhere within or close to her territory. Judging by the direction she is sometimes seen flying of in, we think that her nemesis is somewhere south or east of the canyon. Fortunately Ares held firm today and kept on the eggs through his mate’s entire absence from the site. She finally came to the box at 6:26, and rather hilariously, Ares was acting like he didn’t want to leave! He had just spent half the day there! Astrid forced the matter this time and took over incubation. Ares went to the Hotel for a few minutes and after that he was out of view for a while. Meanwhile Astrid was reintroducing herself to her clutch of eggs. She seemed to be in for the night.